Catalytic dissociation accelerator for gaseous and solid fuels



United 1 States Patent 3,409 420 CATALYTIC DISSOCIATIbN ACCELERATOR FOR GASEOUS AND SOLID FUELS Fred C. Booth, 105 Ardell Road, Bronxville, N.Y. 10708 No Drawing. Filed Jan. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 336,627

3 Claims. (Cl. 44-4) The present invention will be particularly described in its application to dissociation accelerators for liquid fuels and particularly for either gaseous or solid fuels which may be and are converted into finely divided or gaseous form so that they will flow in a non-liquid fluid form to a point or place of combustion.

Although not limited thereto, the present invention will be particularly described in its application to the feeding of gaseous fuels to various types of combustion processes such as blast furnaces, open hearth furnaces or the like, or less preferably to the feeding of gasified non-liquid fluidized fuels to internal combustion engines.

A particular object of this invention is to create highly luminous energy of dissociation in fuels that burn with non-luminous radiation, such as liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon or methane fuel, when supplied with normal atmospheric air in proper proportion.

Another object is to provide gaseous fuels while burning to acquire highly luminous energy of dissociation when admixed with atmospheric air.

Another object is to modify solid fuels to create highly luminous energy of dissociation when burned in atmospheric air.

Still another object is to establish highly luminous radiant energy throughout the mass of combustion gas body to achieve maximum heat transfer from flame to absorbent surfaces as compared with limited radiant transfer from flame envelopes where the great proportion of flame mass is non-luminous.

Another object is ,to eliminate the hazardous smokes currently being discharged into atmosphere by space heating burners, particularly those using combustion air with liquid or solid fuels for domestic heating purposes.

Another object is to reduce the rates of consumption of gaseous fuels which achieve superior heating effects now widely used for high-intensity industrial process heating.

Another object is to modify combustion air so that it will create highly luminous energy of dissociation when admixed with gasified fuels.

Yet another object is to eliminate the hazardous in visible uncompletely burnt gases being exhausted into atmosphere by internal combustion engines operating on gaseous fuels admixed with atmospheric air.

Another object is to greatly reduce the proportion of scale formation losses on metal materials, particularly steel, while being heated to high temperatures for processing in metallurgy.

Another object is to accomplish highly effective combustion by the use of low-cost procedures.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art Without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

It has now been found that by including small amounts of catalysts in the proportion of less than 1% and desirably less than 0.2% and preferably from 0.01% to 0.1% by weight, it is possible to greatly enhance the burning properties with greatly increased effective heat value and with assurance that the combustion will be 3,409,420 Patented Nov. 5, 1968 complete without the formation of intermediate combustion products and without the discharge of uuburnt residues into the air, with resultant pollution.

Although this effect may sometimes be achieved by adding the catalyst to the solid or gaseous fuels before they are passed to the combustion zone, it has been found most satisfactory to cause the incoming combustion air to carry the catalyst in finely divided form.

The catalyst has been found desirably to be a sodium or calcium salt, or acombination of both, of a high molecular weight aliphatic acid, such as stearic, oleic, lauric, linoleic, ricinoleic, palmitic or myristic acid.

It has been found that when these sodium or calcium salts are finely divided in particles having a size varying from 1 to 5 microns in an incoming stream of combustion air that the sodium salts and the calcium salts will give an emission in the combustion zone of 5900 angstrom units for the sodium salt and 6200 angstrom units for the calcium salt.

It has been found that this radiation varying from 5500 to 6500 angstrom units has the effect of eliminating the final production of aldehyde or acid or even alcoholic incomplete combustion products.

Apparently what happens is that the combustion which originally takes place creates due to heat a number of uncombined radicals due to limited radiation energy the resultant combustion of wave-length 4600 Angstrom units of emission. These radicals may be --O--, -H, -OH and CO groupings which recombine under the combustion conditions to establish partial products of combustion in the forms of formaldehyde, ketene and acrylaldehyde which are offenders as lachrymatories, and oxidize further into acetic acid.

In the applicants process the radiation of 5900 or 6200 Angstrom units will result in a secondary phase of reassociation in the combustion process, in order that no pollutants be discharged to atmosphere.

It has been found that this can not be accomplished by heat alone and actually the normal combustion will quickly result in a decline in temperature with the combination of these intermediate products being halved for each 18 Fahrenheit decline in temperature of reaction.

This effect is greatly increased Where there is only low radiation emission below 5000 and in the neighborhood of 4600 Angstrom units. These large temperature drops have the effect of resulting in rather high production of these undesirable incomplete combustion products which cause pollution and result in destructive effect both upon building structures as well as upon the human tissues.

Surprisingly, the provision of radiation at the level of 5900 A. or 6200 A. carried over from the luminous dissociation phase sustains the temperature level of primary reassociation throughout the secondary phase of accelerated fuels to arrive at water vapor and CO It, has, however, been found that to achieve the best results the distribution in size of the sodium and calcium salts must be carefully controlled. The distribution, however, should be throughout the incoming air and in very small size particles ranging from 1 to 5 and at the most 10 microns and this can only be achieved by vaporizing certain types of solutions of these sodium or calcium salts into the atmospheric air being fed or into the gaseous or fluidized fuel stream.

It has been found that this is best achieved by dissolving the calcium or sodium soap in an organic solvent solution containing 1 to 5% of the soap with the preferred solvent being benzene, toluene or xylene.

Although in certain cases dried powder sodium or calcium soaps may be introduced into a stream they are not most satisfactory.

The preferred range of fatty acids are those which have from 8 to 2 2l carbo n atoms with the best acids having 7 g I nature of the invention, and in what manner the same is 16" to 20 carbon 'atoms andthe preferred salts are the oleate, stearate, palmitate andlinoleate.

To achieve the best results it has been found that there should be at least 1 to 10 micron sized sodium or calcium particles for every thousand to ten thousand molecules of air or gaseous fuel and these particles should be of such small 'size'th at they are subject to Brownian move v ment.

The best preferred method of achieving the result'is to disperse 0.01% by weight 'of a sodium fatty acid salt infth'e atmospheric air stream at a temperature in the stream of 200 to 350 P. 'so that there will be'substantial ly immediate volatilization of the organic solvent carner.

It has also been found in some instances that it is' pos'-' sible 'to use sodium salts ofalkyl, phenyl sulfonic acid where" the alkyl group containsfr'oni to 15 carbon Less preferably the result ay be achieved 'by adding to a'slurry of pulverizedcoal or coke or a 'rr'l ixtu're thereo'f With'petroleum"fuel oil, 0.01% to0.02%" of the isodium' salt Which'is thoroughly dispersed and dissolved therein.

Usually the most satisfactory additive, however, is the sodium or calcium stearate, oleate or palmitate dissolved until it has been saturated in benzene,-"toluene"or Xylene.

A less preferred combination consists of dissolving the soap to a saturated solution in water and then spraying the water into incoming atmospheric air or less desirably onto the solid fuel or into the incoming ga'sified fuel.

To achieve desirable results 'with heavier fuels and particularly with calcium salts; the fatty acid may have a carbon chain of 20 to 40 carbon atoms and in this case' 0.01% to 0.02% of the sodium salt may be coatedo'n'to the pulverized coal or coke or blown into the air or gas stream. Desirably, however, the saturated benzol, toluol or xylol solution may be employed.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the to be performed, What is claimed is:

1. A combustion fuel carrying an additive consisting of 0.01% to 0.1% of a combination of a calcium soap of a high rnQlecularweight saturated fatty acidand selected from the group consistingiof stearic..acid,,lauric acid, palmitic acid ormyristic acid disso1ved:in an organic solvent solution, the solvent-of which isselected from the group consisting of benzene,- tolueneand xylene, said soap being in a 1 to 5% solution; said fuel, when burned, giving rise to an emission in the dissociation zone of a radiation of 6200 Angstrom units.

2. The fuel of claim 1, in which the combustion air carries said additivefi'nely dividedin dispersedparticles having a size varyingfrom one to five microns.

The fuel oflclaim 1, in which the combustion air carries said additiye, finely divided in dispersed particle s havingasize varying from one to'five microns said combustion air having-a temperature of'200 to 350?- F.

Referen'c'esCited UNITED STATES PATENTS.

"477,645 10/1951 Canada. "2491162 871926 Great Britain. 7,172 2/1898; Great Britain.

DANIEL E. WYMAN; Primary Examiner.

C. F. DEES, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMBUSTION FUEL CARRYING AN ADDITIVE CONSISTING OF 0.01% TO 0.1% OF A COMBINATION OF A CALCIUM SOAP OF A HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT SATURATED FATTY ACID AND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF STEARIC ACID, ALURIC ACID, PLAMITIC ACID OR MYRISTIC ACID DISSOLVED IN AN ORGANC SOLVENT SOLUTION, THE SOLVENT OF WHICH IS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF BENZENE, TOLUENE AND XYLENE, SAID SOAP BEING IN A 1 TO 5% SOLUTION, SAID FUEL, WHEN BURNED, GIVING RISE TO AN EMISSION IN THE DISSOCIATION ZONE OF A RADIATION OF 6200 ANGSTROM UNITS. 